


Myths and Monsters

by fallenangel860



Series: Moments [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bloodbending (Avatar), Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:40:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23179357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallenangel860/pseuds/fallenangel860
Summary: Zuko learns more about Katara during their trip to avenge her mother's death and the two become friends.
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Moments [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1659397
Comments: 2
Kudos: 63





	Myths and Monsters

Katara dropped her stance and the man collapsed to the floor. She could hardly contain her disappointment that the man was not the one she'd hoped to find. As she turned and pushed past Zuko to leave, he grappled the man against the wall and demanded to know where he could find the man that they were after. The soldier sputtered, but eventually choked out a name. Zuko turned on his heel to go, but hesitated in the doorway. Zuko looked back at the stricken captain and shuddered to himself. What he'd just seen brought back memories of fairy tales, fire nation myths, now he wondered if they weren't myths after all. He turned back to Katara's retreating form and followed at a distance. As they climbed aboard Appa, Zuko couldn't help but be nervous. He turned his back to the water-bender to direct Appa to their new destination. The journey would take longer than anticipated. They would have to stop somewhere for at least a few hours so Appa could rest before they could continue onward. He voiced this to Katara who clearly wanted to argue, but ultimately agreed.  
  
Zuko took the reins and set their course. He was a strong bender, maybe not as strong as Azula or his father. It had taken him longer to master his element than most, but he was still a formidable opponent. He had learned from the Dragons themselves, had mastered techniques that few fire-benders even knew of. Even without his bending he was a force to be reckoned with, with his dao blades in hand. Zuko was no pushover in a fight... but he was scared. He'd never seen bending like what Katara had done. It was as if she'd been controlling him, literally bending him to her will. He recalled Katara's warning to him once the group had finally accepted his offer to train Aang in fire-bending. He shivered feeling the new weight of Katara's threats. Zuko's father was the only person who had truly inspired any kind of terror in him until now. Now Zuko wasn't sure which was worse, a father who wanted to kill him or a girl who could turn his own body against him. He idly wondered if maybe they wouldn't be better off if Katara were to fight Ozai. With the kind of power she'd shown, Ozai would be at their mercy.  
  
As the sun sank below the horizon, Zuko kept an eye out for a place where they could set down for a meal and some rest before continuing their journey. He spotted a sheltered outcropping at the base of a cliff and guided Appa to land. He kept his distance from Katara and spoke as few words to her as possible. He wandered off to collect firewood and when he returned, she was working through her stances with a zeal that would have made Ozai proud. Her forms flowed as seamlessly as the water around her from one stance to the next. Zuko couldn't help but be impressed with the precision she showed. Zuko left her to her training and carried the small bundle of sticks and twigs he'd managed to find several yards away and began to stack them for a cooking fire. When he was done, he ignited the loose pyramid of dried wood with some simple bending. As the flames lapped hungrily along the wood, he dug through their supplies to find a cookpot and the ingredients to make a simple stew. Eventually he could avoid the girl no longer. He walked over to where she was finishing her final form. Her movements were as fluid and graceful as the water she manipulated, a stark contrast to the harsher moves from the bending she had done earlier on the ship, he noted.  
  
She was just bending the water back into her waterskin when she noticed him watching her. “What?”  
  
Zuko was used to her clipped words and sharp tone when it came to him, but it still rankled. He shoved the feeling aside. “I just need some water.” She uncorked her waterskin and bent a measure of water into the cookpot Zuko was holding. He nodded his thanks and retreated to the small fire he'd built. He knelt beside it and began preparing a simple stew with rice and vegetables and a few spices he'd packed. Katara joined him at the fire and a tense hush settled between them. “After we eat we'll head back out. I'll take the first shift flying Appa and we can switch off so we can can both get some rest.”  
  
Katara studied him. She could tell he'd been unsettled since they'd left the ship, though she would bet that he didn't know that she'd noticed. She could tell he was on edge and he kept sneaking glances at her like he was keeping his guard up in case of attack. It made her bristle. He'd barely spoken to her unless he had to, not that he was the most thrilling conversationalist at the best of times. It bothered her that she knew why. “You're scared of me.” It wasn't a question.  
  
Zuko didn't try to deny it. He was a terrible liar anyway and it would be obvious if he even tried. “Yeah.” He still didn't look at her. He tasted the stew and, satisfied with the outcome, portioned it out into two wooden bowls.  
  
He handed one to Katara who took it without question. “You should be.” Her voice was quiet. It wasn't a threat, just a fact.  
  
Zuko considered whether to say anything. His curiosity won out. “What was that back there? What did you do to him?”  
  
Katara sounded grim as she answered. “Blood-bending.” Zuko looked horrified. “I swore I'd never use it again.” She squeezed her eyes closed to hold back tears, but they trickled out anyway.  
  
“You... bent his blood? How? That's...” The fire prince was at a loss for words.  
  
“It's awful,” She finished for him. “A while back we found this old woman, Hama, while we were passing through the fire nation. She was a water-bender from the Southern Water Tribe. She offered to teach me more advanced bending. She showed me how to pull water from the plants and the air and use water you don't think about or see. It was fascinating. But... then she taught me about blood-bending. She said she'd taught herself using rats in a fire nation prison. It was horrible. She was secretly using blood-bending to kidnap people from the village to get back at the fire nation. She wanted revenge for what they'd done to her and her people.” Her voice wavered as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. “In the end she was using it against Aang and Sokka and I had no choice but to use it against her to save them. I swore to myself that I'd never do it again.” She paused. “I could have killed that man and he wasn't even the one I was looking for.”  
  
Zuko focused on the bowl of stew in his hands. “The fire nation told stories of the moon witch. I never thought they could be true. It figures that it would be our own fault she did what she did in the first place.” He looked over at Katara. “For what it's worth, I don't think you would have killed him. You might have the ability, but I don't think you would have gone that far. That's just not the kind of person you are.”  
  
“You seem pretty sure of that, but I don't know anymore. I was so... angry. I hated him because I thought he was the one who killed my mother. I wanted him to suffer the way I've suffered for the last ten years. I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt me.”  
  
Zuko sighed and set the remainder of his meal aside. “I'm not here to judge you. Spirits know I've made too many mistakes of my own for that. I'm not going to tell you what you should do when we find this guy. You do whatever you think you have to. Whatever you decide, make sure it's something you can live with. It'll be a lot harder to forgive yourself if it's not.”  
  
They finished their supper slowly and in silence, neither having much of an appetite left. The air was heavy with solemnity. After the fire had been doused and the dishes had been cleaned and repacked, they climbed back onto Appa and set off once again. After several hours of flight, Zuko handed Katara the reins and curled up in the saddle to settle into a fitful sleep. His dreams were peppered with nightmares of the moon witch. In place of the withered crone he'd imagined as a child, he saw Katara.  
  
Zuko awoke the next morning bleary eyed and apprehensive. They arrived at the village in the late afternoon. When they faced Yan Ra, a light rain had begun to fall. The fight didn't go anything like the one the previous day had. The captain they'd encountered on the Southern Raiders lead ship had been young and able, Yan Ra was old and frail and not nearly half the fearsome monster that had murdered Katara's mother in cold blood. There wasn't so much a fight as a subjugation. Katara could have beaten him easily when she'd hardly even begun really learning to bend, now she was a force of nature. He was cowering on the ground at her mercy and she... let him go. Zuko was relieved more than surprised when she walked away, leaving the pathetic old man alive.  
  
Once they were a good deal away from where they'd left him behind, Katara began to shake and collapsed to the ground. Zuko dropped to her side as the sobs ripped free from her chest. Zuko hesitated, unsure if he should try to offer comfort or if the act would simply cause her to lash out. The decision was made for him when she threw her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his shoulder. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her shaking frame and held her gently as her tears soaked through the fabric to his skin. He stroked her back until eventually her sobs ebbed and she pushed herself away. She wiped at her eyes with her palms to dry them. “I'm sorry.”  
  
Zuko shrugged. “It's fine.”  
  
Katara looked away, unable to look him in the eye. “I thought I was stronger. I don't know why I broke down like that.”  
  
Zuko reached out for her and rested a hand on her arm. “You are strong. What you just did, sparing his life after all the pain he put you through, that takes strength and courage. Lashing out and rage doesn't. Believe me, I know. It's taken me long enough to figure that out. Feeling doesn't make you weak either. It makes you human.”  
  
Katara sniffled. “I didn't want to be like him. I hate him and I'll never forgive what he did to my family, but killing him would have made me no better than him. You were right. I couldn't live with myself if I'd done that. I would always feel like I was a monster too.” She launched herself forward, surprising Zuko and wrapping her arms tightly around him in a hug. He tentatively squeezed back. “I'm sorry, Zuko. You've done nothing but train Aang and keep to yourself for weeks. You helped Sokka rescue our dad and even then I showed you nothing but contempt. Every day you've been with us you've shown that you've changed but I still refused to give you a second chance. You didn't deserve the way I treated you. I was wrong. I hope you can forgive me.”  
  
Zuko's lips lifted slightly. “I don't blame you Katara. I put you all through a lot and I betrayed you personally.” He blushed with shame. “Still. I hope that maybe... maybe we can be friends?” He sounded strangely hopeful and it hurt Katara to think of how lonely they all must have made him feel.  
  
She smiled at him. “Of course. Friends,” she agreed. He had a shy awkward smile. She stood up and brushed herself off. “Let's go home.”


End file.
